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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · ground · branch · bound · pit · march · bat · band

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — the month
  12. band — a ring
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. game — a match
  15. bound — tied together
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — wild animals
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a music group
  23. bat — the animal
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com